Episode 1: "Pain Is Power!" (痛さは強さ)Nobuo Akagi is a 29-year-old delivery man who fantasizes about being a Super Sentai hero and has a strong affection for anime girl Z-Cune Aoi. Then one day, he, female martial artist Mitsuki Aoyagi and cosplayer Yumeria Moegi are recruited by Sentai cafe owner Hiroyo Hakase to protect Akihabara as the Unofficial Sentai Akibaranger - despite the fact that it's all nothing but a grand delusion.

LowdownThe 35th anniversary of Super Sentai may be over, but the tributes continue with this parody series. Hikounin Sentai Akibaranger is what you get when you mix Super Sentai with Akiba@DEEP: Basically a bunch of fanboys running the show.

In contrast to the seriousness of the current series Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters, Akibaranger is all slapstick comedy, with characters occasionally breaking the fourth wall and addressing key elements of Super Sentai such as common filming locations and the stereotypical tactics of the villains. If you thought Gai Ikari of Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger was a hardcore Super Sentai fanboy, Nobuo Akagi is much worse, as he cosplays (poorly) as Deka Red during work and attempts to fork over his salary for a well-preserved DX Great Five toy (from 1986's Hikari Sentai Maskman). Worse is that he goes completely moe over an anime girl whenever he sees pictures of her. Joining him are Mitsuki Aoyagi - a martial artist who doesn't see the point in Super Sentai poses, and Yumeria Aoyagi - an office lady who's into cosplaying. Oh yeah, the main female villain is smoking hot.

As for the suits, they're as fanboyish as you'd imagine, blending elements of past and present Super Sentai suit designs. The henshin method is wacky yet original, as it involves the use of an Aoi doll that transforms into a gun. Of course, being an "unofficial" Super Sentai title, the production value is lower; nevertheless, it's a lot more fun to watch than Go-Busters. And it even has a theme song by Haruko Momoi (Nurse Witch Komugi-chan) to boot.

The Akibarangers don't have a giant robot, but in next week's episode, we'll be introduced to Machine Itashar, an itasha Toyota Prius that transforms into a robot. Can't wait to see that in action.

In short, Hikounin Sentai Akibaranger succeeds where Go-Busters fails at keeping old-school Super Sentai fans entertained while poking fun at their fandom and the otaku culture of Akihabara.

Let's put it this way. I haven't watched any Power Rangers since the original(which I deemed as a "cheap Voltron knockoff", and damn the facts), but I'd watch at least an episode or two of Power Rangers: Geek Force just to see what was up.

Akagi's hopes of dating his long-time crush Sayaka causes him to go on a drinking binge, which surprisingly amplifies his delusion power with him summoning Bouken Red of GoGo Sentai Boukenger. To further test this theory, Akagi and Yumeria get drunk to prepare for the Akibarangers' next battle, much to Mitsuki's dismay.

This episode was obviously tailor-made for drinking games. as it's absolutely wrong on so many levels. I don't even want to get into the details of this week's main villain. Still, it's an extremely hilarious episode you need to see.

"For [insert Super Sentai title here], I recommend [insert Super Sentai character here]! Akiba Red!""Akiba Blue desu ka.""Did you know that every manga is a derivative of other works? And there's this one time..."

Mitsuki takes three days off to participate in a martial arts camp in Izu, and she asks Akagi and Yumeria not to enter any delusions while she's out. But while the duo are living their normal lives in Akihabara, another Chief Clerk suddenly appears, and they are forced to fight him without Mitsuki.

While this is more of a filler episode than anything, it's so moe to see the girls cosplay as past Super Sentai female characters.

Next week on Hikounin Sentai Akibaranger:

Episode 5: "Our Pain ☆ Yellow Mama" (イタイタ☆イエローママ)
You think Yumeria-chan has it bad when it comes to cosplaying? You should see her mother!

The Machine Itashar toy will be huge, given that it will accommodate the S.H. Figuarts Akibarangers. It will definitely not cost US$30-something; expect it to be over US$150, as it will most likely be a Tamashii Web exclusive.

The Machine Itashar toy will be huge, given that it will accommodate the S.H. Figuarts Akibarangers. It will definitely not cost US$30-something; expect it to be over US$150, as it will most likely be a Tamashii Web exclusive.

That's just too epic. Any dates on it yet? Need a lot of time for my wallet to recharge.

So.. is this the first time in history where a (sortof) Sentai mecha was released in the same scale as the action figures? I mean, generally, the robots are huge, so it'd be crazy impractical.. but in this case.. it works awesomely.

So.. is this the first time in history where a (sortof) Sentai mecha was released in the same scale as the action figures? I mean, generally, the robots are huge, so it'd be crazy impractical.. but in this case.. it works awesomely.

Yup, first time ever.

Also just to give you an idea of how big Itashar Robo will be, an S.H. Figuarts male figure is 5.5" in height.

"Zu-kyuun!" Now you can henshin in your own grand delusion with the 1/1 DX MMZ-01 Moe Moe Z-Cune. Just like the one in Akibaranger, the Z-Cune Aoi figure transforms into a gun. No word on when it will be available on Tamashii Web.

Gah, I was never that into MMPR toys/figures to begin with, but I did want the original gun/sword/thing.. when I was nine years old..

I can't believe I'm seriously considering buying Power Rangers toys again. But that gun is probably the best looking weapon they've had in a long while, and awesome that it doubles as their henshin device.

Dangit, I don't even buy figures. But this series is just too funny to not support the franchise.

Yumeria's mother pays her a visit for her 24th birthday. But things don't go well when Kabukichō Mesugurohyōmonchō returns from the dead to convert Akihabara's shops and cafes into host clubs. So how is Yumeria's mother able to enter the whole delusional battle?

Suffice to say, this is the special Mother's Day episode, and it's just so wrong to celebrate the occasion this way. The resurrected baddie from episode 3 isn't even the worst part of it. Be warned that there is some groping involved in this episode.

At the same time, it's actually an emotional episode, especially when you find out the truth about Yumeria-chan's mother.

For those that missed them, the Akibarangers are still available for preorder at HLJ at MSRP still. I'm only up to ep 3 but if they get more weird with the fetishes and such, I may have to watch them without my wife.

Never into the whole Super Sentai/Power Rangers thing and even my son was only briefly into Power Rangers for a short period, but this show sounds like fun and I may give it a try, especially as there seems to be an English subbed version (from the screen shots above).

Akagi and Mitsuki deliver a package to Toei's Tokyo studio, where they tour around the famous Super Sentai backlots and meet veteran stunt coordinator Kazuo Niibori, whose legendary skills encourage Mitsuki to stick around and learn more about Super Sentai combat. Meanwhile, a Chief Clerk has surfaced to whisk away geeks into the theater district of Shimokitazawa.

Despite a pseudo-lesbian scene in the beginning that has almost nothing to do with the story, the episode shines with a tribute to the suit actor - undoubtedly the hardest-working person in the tokusatsu business. Nice to see that Mitsuki-chan can do some great fight scenes on her own. And we get to learn some valuable tricks in filming a Super Sentai show. Of course, having Red Hawk from Choujin Sentai Jetman making a guest appearance is an added plus.

Also, Yumeria-chan's cosplaying gets creepier with her fujoshi tendencies taking over most of her act.